CBP seizes cocaine, heroin at El Paso port of entry

By mnino

Created 10/19/2013 - 6:00am

POSTED: Saturday, October 19, 2013 - 6:00am

UPDATED: Saturday, October 19, 2013 - 6:09am

EL PASO, TX (KVEO NEWSCENTER 23) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the El Paso, Texas port of entry seized 17.95 pounds of cocaine and 2.85 pounds of heroin in one seizure Friday. The bust was one of eight drug seizures made by area CBP officers during the weekend.

The seizure was made Friday just after 11 a.m. when a Mazda 6 vehicle was entering the U.S. from Mexico at the Bridge of the Americas international crossing. CBP officers were performing a sweep of vehicles in line when CBP drug sniffing dog “Cesar” alerted to the car. CBP officers scanned the vehicle with the Z-Portal inspection system and spotted several anomalies in the firewall area. CBP officers continued their exam and located eight packages hidden in a secret compartment in the dash board area. The contents of seven packages tested positive for cocaine while one tested positive for heroin.

“The layers of enforcement CBP employs all helped make this seizure possible,” said CBP El Paso Port Director Hector Mancha. “As a result a sizeable load of cocaine and heroin did not make their destination.”

The driver of the vehicle was arrested by CBP officers. He is identified as 37-year-old Alfredo Olguin Rosas of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. He was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Federal prosecution was accepted on charges associated with the failed smuggling attempt.

CBP officers seized 634 pounds of marijuana and a small amount of cocaine in the other seven drug seizures made this weekend.

While anti-terrorism is the primary mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the inspection process at the ports of entry associated with this mission results in impressive numbers of enforcement actions in all categories.